Bruce doesn't dream.

He never has, really - at least, not that he can remember. He never even had nightmares from the night his parents died. Maybe that's why; maybe he just subconsciously trained himself to not dream after that night, in fear of the nightmares that were sure to come. But the point is that he does not dream.

And yet.

The dream always starts out the same, every night, every time he closes his eyes and slips into the embrace of sleep. He's in a pitch-black room, one so dark that he can't see his hands even when he raises them right in front of his face. He knows, somehow, that he can walk for hours without coming into contact with anything - walls, furniture, anything at all to indicate that he was even in a room. Yet he knows that he is, although he's not sure why, as there really is no reason for him to know that.

The dream changes, after a while of walking. He knows that he won't find anything, no matter how far or how long he walks. This place is empty, desolate even. It fills him with dread every time. The change is never consistent, always bringing him to a different place each night.

(Once, it was a dusty old bedroom, one that made his heart ache, although he didn't know why. He had taken notice of the various space-themed decorations, the model rockets and NASA posters and stars on the ceiling. It was clearly a child's bedroom, but it hadn't been used in a long time. Another time, it was a darkened lab, illuminated only by the strange vials of green liquid lined along the many, many shelves. Bruce had wondered, after he had awoken, if it was Lazarus Water, but that felt wrong. It was something else. Something more. It had made him uneasy, and he got the feeling that something terrible had happened there. He didn't get a chance to investigate the gaping hole in the wall before he had been whisked away to another part of the dream.)

This time, he is in a brightly-lit white lab, and he has to blink stars out of his eyes at the abrupt change in lighting and color. He looks around; it seems like a typical lab, but everything is pure white, except for a green stain on the table. He can feel bile rising in his throat at the sight of the cuffs on the table, and though he still doesn't know what the green substance is, he gets the horrible feeling that it's blood. A lot of it.

He uses what little time he has to investigate the lab. There is an abundance of medical supplies, but many look unused, with the exception of the scalpels. The pit in his stomach continues to grow. Why were there so many? He reaches toward a vial of red liquid, wrong wrong wrong this is wrong, when the dream changes again.

Now he's in what is clearly a cell, except even the cells in Arkham aren't this bare. The only thing it contains is a familiar white-haired teenager, who is chained to the floor with cuffs that glow the same green as the vials of Lazarus Water that he's seen before.

Though Bruce has never learned his name, he has been in every dream, the one constant (besides the empty room, of course) in each one. The kid has never spoken, never done more than watch, but Bruce has always gotten the feeling that he was the reason for these strange dreams.

He knows that he should be more worried. If some kind of meta has managed to get inside his head, there's no telling what could happen. But he can't bring himself to be. Something is wrong, and it's not the teenager.

He can't help but think of his own children.

Something feels . . . off this time. The kid isn't looking up, isn't even moving - he seems limp, almost, as he kneels on the ground, weighed down by the chains keeping him there. Green blood - Bruce knows it's blood now, it has to be - drips from his still figure, pooling on the ground underneath him.

Bruce can't move. He desperately wants to, what could he even do? but it's like he's frozen in place. He can only watch as the teenager slowly, agonizingly, looks up at him, his bright green eyes dull and filled with fear and desperation and hope and -

Bruce wakes.

drabble - cade&eden - a firm telling. @wiinestories

"What can I do for you Eden." he sighed as he opened the door. He hadn't slept and he looked like shit for it too, she wasn't going to back down, she was on a mission, clear from the way she stormed into his apartment. "Get up. Get in the shower. Smarten yourself up." she instructed him with a firmness in her voice that she never used. "No." here it came, the argument, the shit storm that Cade was going to need. "Cade get up and get yourself sorted the damn hell out because you look like.. like crap honestly, you need a shower, you need to smarten yourself up to go see Agatha." her voice held so much firmness to it, don't leave room to manoeuvre.. maybe she had learned how to be a bit braver from Angelo.

"She doesn't want to see me Eden." he grumbled, head hanging and she threw her bag onto the kitchen island to move over to him and pull at his arm to try and get him up. Her own arm was in a sling, she was meant to be taking it easy, resting up, she wasn't meant to be straining like that, but Cade stood up so she'd stop. "Stop it, fuckin' pack it in I'm not going. It'll stress her out too much to have me there, she asked me to fuckin' go!" he raised his voice and before he knew it he was shouting. "You know I fucked up too so just admit it! I can admit it with damn open arm-" Eden shouted. Eden never shouted like that, but she wasn't about to feel like the bad guy for helping Agatha and checking up on him and his woe is me story right now. "Get your shit together Cade! What, you think I'm frightened because you raised your voice? I can raise my damn voice too! You owe her more than sitting here feeling sorry for yourself! you fucked up, you really fucked up, big wow, get back there and fix it and show her you'd never hurt her, that you'd never put her in danger, show her that you adore her, it is obvious to me, it's obvious to everyone!" she breathed heavily with how passionate she was getting, her finger pointed.

"Oh so we're okay to completely dodge Angelo in this conversation are we? We're not gonna talk about you being with him when I warned you about him? Hell I warned her not to look into him and you're what, you're with him? You're fucking with me here Eden you can't be serious." she kept her frown, her stance. "Keep him out of it." she wanted to sound more threatening than she did. "Keep him out of it, he had his hand on Agatha's neck and you defend him?" his fist slammed into his coffee table with that pent up angry. "You've every right to be angry but he didn't know, you know why I defend him? We both know damn well you'd watch the rest of the world burn for Agatha if that is what he took and he-" Cade stopped her. "You really think that's what you are to him Eden? Christ." he ran his hands up over his face and through his hair. "Eden you're his whore.. there 'aint a nicer word for it. Men like Angelo don't care for girls like you, he'll have his fun then when he gets what he wants that's it, he'll wash his hands of you n' you will be heartbroken." he gestured his hands out, as if to say he was trying to help her, but it wasn't helpful.

"I am not here to talk about Angelo, I'm here to make you see sense because you should be there with her. You should be pleading for her to forgive you, yes you have a part to blame because you should have told her what you get involved with and that you're not a text book lawful good boy the minute things became comfortable with Agatha. You should have told her what she was getting involved with, he never lied to me and I've known who he is all along but Agatha has to find out through all of this that you do off record work for bad people and by the way, the people that attacked my bakery? They weren't there because of me, they weren't there because of Angelo, they were there looking for you so don't dare start talking like what you've done is any better than the things he does." Suddenly Cade sank down for that anger. "What? They... no, no 'coz that.. that makes it-" his fault. She knew the words that'd come next and guilt was flooding his chest. "I didn't know, Eden I didn't know.." she moved forward to shush him, her hands on his arms.

"What's done is done.. what's done is done, but nobody can forgive you for it if you don't try, okay? Agatha needs you to try, your baby needs you to go there and try and you're better than this okay?" she pointed her hand down to the alcohol. He hung his head shamefully and as angry as she was at him, Cade had been there for her countless times, she wrapped her arms around him and he did the same. "I didn't mean for her to get hurt- not her, not the baby not you nothin', I 'aint in the market for hurting people." he sighed heavily and she patted his back. "I know Cade, I know that but I need you to hear me.. okay? You're a good man.. you are, so go and be a good man, show her she's your world, please." she paused, leaning back to run her hands up and down her friends arms. "Ben wouldn't want to see you deny yourself your own happiness, Cade."

"What do I even say to her? I can't begin to..." his shoulders slump down, he shrugs, he had no idea how to be the better man really. Eden reached for his collar to fold it, straighten him up. "You have a shower, you put your nice shirt on, you sort out your hair and have a shave, you buy her flowers and then you start with sorry. A heartfelt sorry, you tell her exactly what she means to you, you tell her you were an idiot and you tell her the whole truth, you explain it, and you never lie to her again and you pray that she thinks you're worth the chance. Okay?" she nodded her head, waiting for him to nod his head with her. "You don't do it for me, you don't do it for Ben or even yourself, you do it because you're a better man, you're a good man." he nodded in agreement, he swallowed his pride, he agreed. "Which ones my nice shirt?" he smiled softly. "Navy one, with the nice pattern on it it, the really discreet one, make sure the collars straightened up."

She pulled back, going over for her bag and then he took a deep breath. "Eden." she stilled. "Cade we don't need to talk about him anymore." she knew it was coming, that he'd not be able to leave it and god she wanted him to just drop it because she didn't want to be mad at him anymore. "I wouldn't be a good friend to your brother if I didn't try 'coz Eden, that man isn't right for you." he started. "Cade-" he interrupted. "I love you kiddo, for coming here, talkin' sense into me but..." kiddo. Kiddo was that stupid thing he'd call her when she used to tag along with her brother, when she was the quiet little sister at their side. "..but Ben wouldn't want you with him either Eden. Ben wouldn't want his little sister being some sold out whore to Angelo fucking Santino, love. I get it the influence he is, how that can seem fun for a while, that he might seem different but he's gonna let you down. You'll get hurt in all this."

Eden picked up her coat and started to walk, turning to him as she did. "Yeah? Ben would've beat the shit out of you for calling me that." she had tears in her eyes. She'd done her part. "Hey- Eden, no no I didn't mean like-" she walked. "Eden!" he called but she was done. She wanted to help Cade, she had, he was going to go to Agatha, but he owed her an apology. He flicked open his wallet, he kept a picture of Sophia.. it'd been there years, but he also in the back tucked away had a picture of him and his best friend back from their youth, just being idiots together. He touched his fingers over it before looking skyward. "Your sisters bitin' off more than she can chew tough guy, but Ben you'd have made a hell of a godfather." he nodded, just once, like her Brother would hear that he was trying.

He showered, aftershave, that smart navy shirt, he even went and bought the best flowers he could find. He had some making up to do, so early afternoon Cade rasped his knuckles on the hospital rooms door and stood with pink and white roses. "Agatha? I want to start by saying that I'm sorry, and if you'd give me a single chance, I'd like to try n' explain.. if you'd let me 'coz you're fuckin' everything to me and I don't want to lose what we've got, 'coz I was a damn idiot."

Cock Driving License

I would miss that warmth when you find a spot with sun after a while. I would miss the purring if cats and the clicking of hooves and the little barks of a dog I'll never see again. I would miss my friends building me into their fics. I would miss someone talking about something they love, going into a full rant, and me realizing how much they mean to me. I would miss doing makeup. I would miss writing. I would miss being genuinely appreciated at work. I would miss the smile on a guests face after an event I am to thank for went well. I would miss the feeling of invincibility after leaving a concert. I would miss power of a good movie. I would miss getting pulled into a fictional world. I would miss the first snow. I would miss the new seasonal energy drink flavour. I would miss waking up from a nap. I would miss the warmth of my bed in the morning. I would miss blasting Charmer during a shower. I would miss all the possible places I still haven't seen. I would miss the euphoria of wearing a new outfit. I would miss out on all the silly little fights that make me understand someone. I would miss helping out a stranger. I would miss my rings. I would miss the feeling of freshly shaven legs under a fuzzy blanket. I would miss the honesty of a child. I would miss my brother sending me tiktoks. I would miss playfighting with my friends. I would miss saying offensive. Iwould miss I would miss the taste of a donut. I would miss my moms food. I would miss the smell of my dads perfume. I would miss hugs.

I would miss love.

I would miss so much.

I would miss everything.

I would miss out on everything that is to come.

never let anyone tell you that trawling through mediocre victorian poetry isn't worth it. we just happened upon an absolute BANGER of a worm poem. go read it or else 🪱🪱🪱

finally I got them all

Motaz Azaiza interviewed by Ajstream after fleeing Gaza, please do watch the whole interview...

not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing [what would happen between earth and the moon if the earth stopped spinning as illustrated by xkcd randall munroe]

English added by me :)

Tumbleweed needs everyone to know that I am his most cruel and heartless mother for decreasing the amount of food he gets due to him gaining a third again his body weight over the last year no that is not all fur Tumbleweed you are shaped like a pregnant sheep!

He has spent much of the day stomping from room to room while yelling his immense displeasure.

Tell me you know nothing about history without telling me you know nothing about history

🐛 caterpillar - the returning champion of the 2023 race at 41.6% of the votes

🐌 snail - runner up of the 2023 race at 38.3%, only 3.3% behind the caterpillar.

🪱 worm - placed last in 2023, with only 20.1% of votes

🪲 beetle, 🐞 ladybug, and 🐝 bee are new competitors!

maya angelou saying the funniest thing anyone has ever said about editing, which i can never let myself forget EVER AGAIN [x]

TRANS WOMEN ARE REAL WOMEN AND DESERVE REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA JUST AS MUCH AS ANY OTHER WOMAN

This post is cancelled. Look at quakke instead ⤵️